India to assume chairmanship of Wassenaar Arrangement

What is Wassenaar Arrangement?

• The Wassenaar Arrangement has been established in order to contribute to regional and international security and stability, by promoting transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies, thus preventing destabilising accumulations.
• The body came into being in 1996 to succeed the Cold War-era Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls.
  • The name comes from Wassenaar, a suburb of The Hague, where the agreement to start such a multi-lateral cooperation was reached in 1995.
• Members: 42
• India: India joined the Wassenaar Arrangement in December 2017 as its 42nd participating state.
• The Arrangement is based on five crucial principles:
• It contributes to regional and international security and stability.
• It promotes transparency and greater responsibility in transfers of conventional arms and dual-use goods and technologies.
• It complements and reinforces the export control regimes for weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.
• It is not directed against any state or group of states.
• It uses export controls as a means to combat terrorism.

Q1) What does the Wassenaar Arrangement cover?

The Wassenaar Arrangement (WA) is the first global, multilateral arrangement covering both conventional weapons and sensitive dual-use goods and technologies. It succeeds COCOM, which was disbanded in 1994 after it became apparent that the Cold War’s East-West export controls were no longer appropriate.

Source: All India Radio

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